Objects from a tomb at
Trebbia

Greek, about 440-420
BCFrom near Capua, Campania,
Italy

The contents of a tomb opened by Sir William
Hamilton in 1766

During his long residence in southern Italy
(1764-1800), the connoisseur Sir William Hamilton (1730-1803) was
interested not only in painted vases and fashionable collectables,
but also in their archaeological contexts. In 1766, he was present
at the opening of tombs in the mountains of Campania ten miles
north-east of the ancient city of Capua. His purpose was to
understand their method of construction and to see whether Greek
vases were to be found in tombs in such a remote region of
Italy.

Giuseppe Bracci made
a sketch of one of the tombs, an engraving of which appeared in
d'Hancarville's Antiqités
Etrusques, Grecques et Romaines (1767-76), a
description of Hamilton's first vase collection. This shows
a skeleton surrounded by vases and other objects, some standing on
the floor of the tomb, others leaning or hanging from the walls.
Many of these objects came to the British Museum with the purchase
of Hamilton's collection in 1772 and some can now be
identified. Most important is an Athenian red-figure vase dating to
about 440-420 BC. It provides dating evidence for the other
objects, which include domestic utensils - jugs, a food grater,
wine ladle and strigil (body-scraper) - and two iron
swords.